Govt to organise state's first River Carnival

Kolkata: For the first time ever in the state, the Mamata Banerjee government is going to organise a River Carnival along river Hooghly in Kolkata and Howrah. In addition to that, there will also be a dart-throwing festival in which around 30,000 children will be taking part.

Sources in the state secretariat said that the carnival will be held on December 8, 9 and 10 where the main part is going to be the cultural programmes at different spots along river Hooghly.

The state Tourism department has written a letter to the Information and Cultural Affairs department to organise the cultural programme during the River Carnival that is going to be held for the first time in the state with a focus to attract more tourists.

The programmes will be held on river banks both in Howrah and Kolkata side.

According to a state government official, a high-level meeting was held in this connection on November 9. Senior officials of the state Tourism department and Information and Cultural Affairs Department held an inspection of the spots along river Hooghly to identify the "perfect" locations where the programmes can be organised.

According to the official, the team went to different ghats including Prinsep Ghat, Millennium Park Ghat, Baje Kadamtala Ghat in Kolkata side and Ramkrishnapur Ghat in Howrah.

Sources said that artistes from Kolkata and its adjoining areas as well as folk artistes will be performing in the cultural programme. The folk artistes, who will be performing, are enlisted to the Lok Prasar Prakalpa of the state government. It may be recalled that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had introduced the Lok Prasar Prakalpa to extend support to folk artistes from different parts of the state. It helped in reviving many forms of the folk dance which would have been extinct if the Chief Minister had not taken the step.

There will be an inaugural ceremony of the three-day-long carnival.

There will be different components in the River Carnival, discussions on which are still going on, for common people and it will be another major event that the state government is going to gift the people of Bengal and at the same time, tourists from different parts of the country and abroad will also be appreciating the step taken to highlight the culture and tradition of the state.

The concerned officials are also holding meetings with civic bodies and police, both in Kolkata and Howrah in this connection.